Not sure which have been answered already but Iām just happy to catch another one! š¤
For the ship asks!
š How did they both realize āoh wait, this is actually loveā?
š³ Whatās the most embarrassing thing theyāve walked in on the other doing?
š How do they act when one of them is sick?
š„ Whatās the biggest risk one of them took for the other that the partner didnāt find out about until much later?
š« Ten years from now, what random Tuesday are they spending together?
Oh boy!! You did great picking because I haven't done any of these !! Thank you for the asks my friend !
š How did they both realize āoh wait, this is actually loveā?
Wait i think i actually posted a little thing about this once. Hold on.
Aha! Here.
This is right after you give him an artifact but he still isn't ready to say what exactly his condition is about but owns that he asks a lot with few answers. Ashni tells him okay but that she's glad she can help, largely because Gale has been so respectful of her own privacy and boundaries she refrains from pushing him. Then he whips out the bow and "my lady I bow to your boundless kindness." While i don't think this was exactly a "ah fuck i'm in love" moment I think it was very much a moment of Ashni going "ah, fuck. I'm in trouble" because she starts to recognize the edges of it and she isn't necessarily thrilled at first because it's new and kind of scary and also she's just trying to survive. It's this very simple interaction but one full of respect and humor but the humor is not at her expense. I think from there, it is a slow progression. Ashni becomes more and more endeared by him. I don't think she has a particular moment of knowing it's more like a slow acceptance. She never quite feels the urgency to share those feelings until Mystra's "request." Then it becomes about wanting him to understand his own worth, she doesn't need him to reciprocate she just needs him to understand that he is loved.
Is it too sappy for me to say that I think Gale is love struck with her from the get-go? He gets yoinked out of a portal by a blue woman with scales that shimmer, smells like the sea, and calls lightning like it belongs to her and he's pretty much a goner. Plus it suits my head cannon for why he is a bit more flirtatious early on. He's already a bit smitten and he really wants her to like him. That being said, I think it also really clicks in for him on the night that Elminster visits. He has this moment of recognition that he was starting to move forward, that he was starting to imagine the possibility of life after the tadpole and after the orb. That for as much as he desires redemption and forgiveness in the eyes of mystra, he doesn't want to die. Coupled with the fact that it's Ashni who really pushes him as he is spiraling down this "i have to sacrifice myself" hole and challenges him to consider that he could do more good in the world by staying in it. I think that really strikes him. All of those emotions kind of culminate over that night and the first time Ashni holds him. I have a fic about it on my ao3 but it's also currently under revision. It's one of the first things I wrote in a hot minute so it needs some general editing and also i've just had some more thoughts about how to modify it to fit them better as I've come to understand them more.
š³ Whatās the most embarrassing thing theyāve walked in on the other doing?
Hmm. I like to think that Gale rehearses things so Ashni has for sure walked in on Gale rehearsing all manner of things like romantic gestures or lectures for his students, even asking some of his colleges out to drinks etc. But by far the weirdest one is probably some kind of birth simulation when she is near her due date for their first kid. He's tucked away somewhere with a bunch of textbooks open and a practice baby and Tara is there too reading various things from the books out to him. He wants her labor to go as smoothly as possible and he is so nervous, it's very sweet but also a super ridiculous thing to walk in on.
For Ashni, there comes a day that Gale realizes that Ashni has names for and talks to all of their plants. The plants have different personalities and she uses different voices when talking to them. Halsin used speak with plants like one time in front of her and it started a whole thing because it's this whole other world that she hadn't really considered the depth of before. She also got very invested in making the tower come alive a bit more and Shadowheart and Halsin keep sending her gardening tips. I don't think she even realizes she's doing it. But after Gale discovers this it becomes a much more open thing. He has to learn all the names of all the plants and it becomes a weird way of talking--the plants become part of their conversations around the house. Like, "honey it's time to go to bed. Nellie agrees with me."
š How do they act when one of them is sick?
I think they have like, inverse childlike energy. Ashni doesn't get sick often but when she does her whole body just crashes. Gale absolutely dotes on her and she (somewhat begrudgingly at first) enjoys being taken care of like she's a kid. It's all cuddles and quality time and good food and warm tea. It's not something she got to experience growing up and Gale really indulges in being able to dote on her when she is normally a very independent individual. That's actually it's own thing, she has to adjust to the relationship dynamic of "what do you mean you make breakfast every morning for both of us? I can do that myself? Oh, you just want to? Oh. Okay. Interesting." It's a lot of learning she no longer needs to be hyper independent.
On the flip side, I think Gale has the kind of sick kid energy where he is like "No i wanna keep reading ! What do you mean i have to sleep! Just one more hour I swear !" He will try to keep going and so taking care of sick Gale almost becomes something like a game of bribery till he ultimately crashes and is like, "oh shoot. okay fine. I'll go to bed now."
š„ Whatās the biggest risk one of them took for the other that the partner didnāt find out about until much later?
The pair of them are honestly somewhat freakishly in sync even when they are not totally aware of it. So, on one hand, Gale was super prepared to use the Orb as a last resort even after agreeing to work with Orpheus to defeat the brain. There is a whole secret goodbye letter he wrote for Ashni should he end up having to use it. Conversely, Ashni despite all her determination and will to ensure Gale does not have to use the orb, is still a very practical person. She recognizes the possibility of needing to use it should all else fail. Does she have multiple contingency plans to keep that from happening? Yes. Does she also have her own stash of scrolls like teleportation and counterspell to to keep Gale from booping her away should they have to use the orb? Also yes. In her mind, if the orb is used, they use it together. Neither of them knew about the others plan. I think at some point Ashni finds the letter and both of them confess to what they were prepared to do for each other. It's a whole big emotional moment and then they resolve not to have any more secrets between the two of them. (Not that they really have any others but still. It's the principle of the thing.)
š« Ten years from now, what random Tuesday are they spending together?
I'm reading this as "what are they doing on a random tuesday in ten years." So lets see, in ten years they have a kiddo who is probably between 6-8 years old (they wait a while to have kids). They probably have a family night kind of thing where Gale and Ashni both leave work early and Gale cooks and Ashni and kiddo help (i should really kiddo but haven't settled on one yet). Arabella may be around because they for sure kind of adopted her. (Ashni was not fond of leaving her to Elminster and the two bonded throughout the game anyway. By the time they have kid she also *really* loves having Arabella as an older sibling to her baby given she didn't grow up around other tieflings.) Morenna and Tara are there too. I think the night probably ends with a walk by the ocean and then a reading cuddle puddle.
